It Runs In The Family
by Mercy P. Jones
Summary: Remy Lebeau gets a strange call from an old friend. She leaves him with some shocking news. Remy makes his way to LA California to see it for himself. He's very surprised at what he finds and just what kind of life his newly found child is living. NOTBUFF
1. Watchful Eye

AN: I've never really seen this done before, so I wanted to give it a shot. I have two different ways I wanted to go about this. One is a father/daughter approach(which is what the fic is), the other was a brother/sister approach, which I might attempt later. I also have always wanted to try two other ideas, both sibling or father/child relations, with another character which I might attempt too.

The main character is Remy Lebeau. Though I did read the X-Men comics when I was little, I'm a little rusty, so I'm making this a crossover with the movies instead. The X-Men Trilogy happened years ago. This chapter has the Buffyverse in Season 4 and Angel in Season 1. In the next one it will jump to Buffy Season 6 and Angel Season 3. That's where the plot will begin.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally.

xXx

His eyes skimmed over his surroundings from behind his sunglasses. It was incredibly bright. So, he stood off to the side in the shade, underneath a tall tree. He had abandoned his favorite coat because of the heat and instead opted to just wear a black t-shirt and tattered jeans. He blew out a puff of smoke and lowered his cigarette when he saw her.

Remy Lebeau had driven his motorcycle across the entire country to get here. That phone call he had gotten from the woman weeks ago had done something to him.

He was still in shock.

It was no secret to anyone that Remy Lebeau got around. Especially before joining the X-Men and falling for the resident Rogue. Yet he wondered what they would say when they learned that he had fathered a child. A child he had just learned about. One that was 19 years old and born when he was only fifteen.

It had been a strange day when he got the news. As far as he could tell there was no real reason for her phone call. Guilt maybe.

He had been in the living room, watching Casablancas with Rogue. Personally, he never cared too much for the movie, but it was one of Rogue's favorites. And it was the third year anniversary of the day they met. This was the day he decided he would celebrate the enigmatic girl's birthday since she refused to tell anyone when it was. She had just put on the emerald necklace he had gotten for her (legally), and he had wondered if she would let him steal a quick kiss before the shock of his kindness to her wore off. He had leaned in, inches away from her, and she had yet to pull back. Then the phone rang. She jumped back, face red, and hastily answered the phone. Her full lips turned down and she practically threw the phone at him. She childishly flopped back down on the couch, arms crossed, and turned her attention back to the movie.

It had been a woman named Cathrine on the phone. One of his many conquests that he had quickly forgotten about. She quickly reminded him of who she was. Well, of the time he had met her, not necessarily her herself.

Then Cathrine proceeded to inform him he had a child.

So now, he was here in California, looking for his little girl.

He had spotted her in the crowd already. It wasn't that hard. Her mother had given him a brief description and location. And her name.

_Cordelia Chase._

She was dressed in a bright pink shirt and black pants. She was wandering through a large crowd, looking at various items for sale. She pushed her long curly brown tresses over her shoulders before stopping at an art table.

A strange feeling hit Remy's gut at the thought that his daughter was an artist. He felt proud. She was beautiful _and_ creative. He needed to get closer. So he made his way from the tree to the art table, looking like one of the many customers walking by, suddenly interested in the art supplies.

The woman hosting the art table quickly approached Cordelia, "Do you paint?"

Cordelia laughed a little, "Oh, no." She shook her head, "I was just looking for something for a friend."

Remy suddenly felt a strange feeling of concern in his chest. The feeling wasn't his.

"I thought maybe if he had a hobby... - He's a little detached from things."

She wasn't an artist. She was a concerned friend. Remy couldn't stop that small feeling of pride from growing.

The woman smiled knowingly, "Well, they say art is the best therapy for that."

Cordelia smiled at the idea and turned her head slightly to the side, "Really?"

The woman nodded, "Sure, they use it in mental institutions all the time," Remy certainly did not miss the slightly offended reaction from his daughter. _His daughter_, "You get patients drawing and working with clay – helps them get back in touch."

And just like Remy predicted, Cordelia was quick to defend her friend, "Well, he is _not_ crazy or anything." She paused for a moment, "He's – just different?"

Without missing a beat the woman responded, "Depressed."

Cordelia's response was quick, "He wears a lot of black." She picked up a nearby bundle, "How much are these pastels?"

The woman immediately brightened, "Oh, these are on special. You get the entire set, the large one, and some drawing paper and little..."

Remy stopped paying attention to the two women and turned his head as a strange feeling came over him. He looked around the crowd, his back now towards his daughter, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was only after Cordelia walked passed him that he turned his attention back to her, two large bags now in her hands. The feeling was still there however, and Remy quickly looked the other way, but saw nothing.

"Agh!"

Remy quickly turned back around. The young Californian was holding her head. She dropped both her bags and pulled out her cellphone. But before she could finish the phone number, she dropped the cell and held her head once more. Remy stiffened as she cried out in pain and stumbled to the side. There seemed to be a small moment where her pain resided and a look of confusion crossed her face. Only to have whatever was happening to her come back full force, if not stronger. This time he watched in horror as she threw her full body weight to the side, knocking over a couple of paintings. He froze in horror as she writhed on the floor, crying out in pain.

xXx

From the moment he saw her, he had begun to wonder how he was going to introduce himself to her. He certainly couldn't just walk up to her on the street and introduce himself as her mother's one night stand or gentleman caller. All the different scenarios that he played out in his head ended with him introducing himself that way, no matter where it took place. The only thing was, was that with all the different scenarios, none took place within a hospital.

Or with his daughter convulsing in pain.

"Hey! You can't be here!"

Remy started from his hiding place. Did they notice him?

"What happened?"

The strange new voice caught Remy's attention and shook him out of his panic. An incredibly pale man dressed all in black stood near the entrance of the room, his eyes wide with unexpressed panic. The all black outfit brought him to reason that this was the man Cordelia had been buying things for.

"Are you family?"

"Yes!"

Remy almost jolted at that. He knew better than anyone that your family wasn't always blood related, but that didn't stop the small sting.

"AaaAaaaah!"

The doctor pulled away from the struggling girl and stood before the man, "They brought her in a few hours ago." He shook his head, "I'm not sure what happened." He glanced back at Cordelia, "Does she have a history of mental illness?"

"No." The man was quick to respond.

The doctor didn't let up though, "Does she use drugs?"

Again, the man didn't even think, "No."

She let out another sob, but it was muffled behind her scream, "Noooo-aaahhh!"

The doctor nodded, a knowing look on his face, "Well, she is having a psychotic episode. We've done a CAT scan." He frowned, confused, "There is no organic damage that we can see, but we can't seem to sedate her."

The man pushed back the nurses and held the girl down by her shoulders, "Cordelia, can you hear me? - Cordelia!" He frowned and had to push the convulsing girl down harder. It didn't take a mutant to notice that he was pushing her down just as well as the five doctors and nurses did by himself, "Cordelia!"

The doctor stood behind the man, a sympathetic look on his face, "We're trying a number of different drug therapies," He frowned and took a step closer, "Do you know if she has any allergies?"

The man shook his head again, never taking his eyes off the crying girl, "I don't think so." He frowned, "Drugs won't help her."

Remy turned his gaze from Cordelia to the man. The certainty in his voice caused Remy's gut to tighten. He knew what was doing this to her, didn't he?

"Well, something better," Both Remy and the pale man turned to look at the doctor, "I need to inform you, if we don't find a way to stop it..."

Remy's hearing seemed to be muffled. He watched as she writhed in pain on the bed. The tears streaming down her face, while a vein in her temple was visibly throbbing. Her wide open brown eyes were blood shot red. Her screams, now muffled to his ears, reverberated through the hospital. He never looked up, but he knew that people passing by were peaking in the door window, trying to get a glimpse of the girl. The girl who was his _daughter_. Such a strange relationship to him, but a relationship none the less. A blood tied one. One he had never had before.

He couldn't do nothing.

Closing his eyes, Remy took in a deep breath and reached out to her. He couldn't feel the physical pain, but he could feel the emotional turmoil running inside her. It ranged from grief to fear, from confusion to dread. He reached out with his empathy, tried to find what was causing these feelings inside of her. Only to find that they were not her feelings, not really. Was she an empath? Was she just like him? Now, even more determined to help her, he reached back out. He sifted through the emotions, tried to find hers, tried to pick it out of the crowd. Saying he was looking for a needle in a haystack was an understatement. Inwardly, he growled in frustration. He couldn't find her! But he could do the next best thing; he dulled down all the emotions. He kept his eyes shut tight, for fear that someone would notice his glowing eyes.

"What happened?"

The panic in the pale man's voice hit him hard. This man cared very much for this girl.

"One of the medicines must have kicked in," Even Remy could hear the uncertainty in the doctor's voice.

"I gotta go." The pale man's footsteps were light, Remy could barely hear them. "You take care of her! I'll be back."

The closing door was a sure sign he had left.

A good hour passed by before the man walked back in as if in a daze. Remy smelt the familiar sell of smoke and ash, the man even had a smudge of it across one of his cheeks. He walked straight up to Cordelia and reached over to grab her left hand. He leaned against the bed.

"Cordelia – I'm gonna fix this." His voice turned hard and determined, "Promise. I'm gonna get you back." His voice shook slightly with the next sentence, and Remy, though jealous, was content with the knowledge that someone out in this world was doing what they could to help her.

The girl in question just whimpered as whatever it was that was hurting her continued. Affected by the whimper, the man's head turned down, unable to stare at her face. A strange look passed over his face and his vision snapped back to the young girl's face.

"I'm gonna fix this."

His voice was much more determined and filled with much more certainty. He suddenly stood up and leaned forward. He brushed her hair back before he pulled himself away and practically ran out the door.

It wasn't even an hour when the next visitor came in.

A tall bald black man walked in and stood beside the bed. He looked down at the girl, a frown on his lips, but said nothing. He stood there for a while, until the door slid open a crack and a young white man with curly black hair stuck his head in.

Quietly, the man took a step in, "Gunn," The black man half turned to him, but stayed by Cordelia's bed, "We found the other one. He's been burned pretty bad. Doctors said he was lucky. Somethin' shoulda broke in an explosion like that."

Gunn just nodded, "Yeah. He's lucky." His voice was somewhat sarcastic.

The young kid, looked down at that, realizing Gunn was less than happy with his observation. Glancing up, the boy shook as he asked the question that had been on his mind for sometime, "I don't get it."

With a sigh, Gunn looked back at the kid again, "Get what, Luke?"

Luke motioned to the girl, "Her, or the guy in the ICU. I mean," He took a cautious step forward, "why are they working for a demon?"

Remy bristled at the term, but stayed hidden.

"I mean, if he turns on 'em-"

"Shut it, Luke." Gunn's voice was hard and he glared at the kid. He stepped towards the kid and squared his shoulders to his. Crossing his arms, he frowned angrily, "These people are doing a good thing. 'Sides, it's their lives, not ours."

"So then why are we-"

"Because, I said we are!" He voice was more authoritative than annoyed, causing the kid to jump, "Just go outside and watch the damn door!"

Without another word, the kid did as told, leaving Remy and this Gunn character alone with a whimpering Cordelia.

For the next two to three hours, Remy was stationed in his hiding place, glaring at the black man. Every once in a while, the kid would pop his head back in and give him an update on the man in the ICU. Remy had hoped to have more time alone with her in the hospital room. After all, this was probably the only time he could get close to her without alarming anyone.

As much as he wanted to get to know her, he wasn't ready to be a father to her.

After all, she was still just a girl.

This time when the door opened, it wasn't the kid who came in, but the pale man. He walked up next to Gunn and looked down at Cordelia. He held a book in his hands.

"Sorry, man." Said the black man, "No changes."

The man nodded, "I know." He turned to him and tucking the book under one of his arms, he held out his hand, "Thanks for looking out for them. Any problems?"

"Nah, man, it was the easiest job me and mine have had in a while." Clapping his hand in the other man's, Gunn nodded, "So you figure out what's causin' this?"

The man nodded, "Yeah. I just need to wait for Wesley to wake up and read the translation in here." He held up the book, but refused to reveal what it was that had done this to the girl.

Remy grew annoyed.

Gunn just nodded, as if expecting that response. He then jerked his head to the door, "You need anything else? 'Cause my people get a little antsy in hospitals, ya know?"

He shook his head, "No, thanks. I owe you."

"Yeah, you do." Turning on his heels, the man headed towards the door before stopping and turning back around, "Hey, Angel."

The man, whose name was finally revealed to Remy, turned around.

"Take care of 'em."

Angel just nodded before turning back to Cordelia. When the door clicked shut behind Gunn, Angel whispered, "Promise."

Angel and Remy both stood there and watched over the crying Cordelia silently. Remy, ever aware of the time passing him by, was unsure of just how long it had been. He was only snapped out of his thoughts when the door opened. A man in a wheelchair silently rolled in. His face was bruised and covered in bandages. His arm was confined to a sling and he looked at the girl in horror.

"My, God."

Angel turned around and held out the book, "Wesley. She's under a spell, Senior Partner touched her. Break it."

Wesley reached out wordlessly and grabbed the book with his one good hand. Too heavy for his weakened arm, Wesley quickly dropped it in his lap before flipping through the pages. Meanwhile, Angel walked over to the other side of her bed and leaned over the young woman. It only took a few minutes for Wesley to find the passage he needed and he rolled up next to her bed as well.

As he started speaking, Remy grew aware of what kind of life his daughter was living. He had seen proof of magic back in New Orleans, but he had never seen it done first hand.

"And if the beast shalt find thee, and touch thee, thou shalt be wounded in thy soul – and thou shalt know madness. The beast shalt attack and cripple thee and thou shalt know neither friend nor family. But thou shalt undo the beast. Thou shalt find the sacred words of Anatole and thou shalt be restored. Three times shalt thou say these words: unbind – unbind – unbind."

A white blinding flash ignited in the room, and Remy had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out in pain as it burned his ever sensitive eyes. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it dispersed. Looking up above his arms, he watched as Angel and Wesley both looked up at the girl.

Cordelia's eyes slowly opened, and she blinked them a few times.

"Hey." Angel whispered as he leaned over her, a small smile now lighting his face.

"Angel?" Her voice was soar and hoarse. She glanced over at Wesley, not even seeming surprised he was in a wheelchair.

No one paid the nurse any attention as she ran in and stared at them all in shock. They didn't even seem to register her words as she told them, "I'll get Dr. Evans." Or when she hurried away.

Turning her gaze back to Angel, she whispered words that only steeled what Remy had already known. And his heart broke.

"I saw them all. And there is so much pain." Her voice shook at that last word, "We have to help them." She almost sounded like she was begging with Angel.

Angel just nodded hurridely, "We will." He reached up and stroked her cheek, wiping away the tears that had leaked down her cheeks, "We will."

Desolate, Remy climbed down from his perch in the tree outside Cordelia's window. He jumped from the last limb before landing on the ground silently. He placed his hands in his pockets and turned to look back at the window that had separated him and his daughter just moments before. Now he knew that it was much more than the window that separated the two.

She was out in the world doing good. She had friends to protect her, that cared for her. She was free of guilt.

He wasn't. He had a past, few friends, and more baggage than he cared to admit. And he had done some pretty horrendous things.

She was much better off living in ignorance and never knowing what kind of father she really had.


	2. The Mystery of Fred

She had seen a lot of things. Nothing could really surprise her anymore. I mean, after you've worked for one of the worst mass murderers in the history of ever and have gotten blood and other strange gook on your clothes that will never come out no matter how many times you wash it or take it to the dry cleaners, you get use to the strange occurrences. It's not like everyone's graduation ceremony involved a giant snake, an explosion, and a nasty maroon covered gown that so did not go with their complexion.

What was wrong with the teal color anyway?

But that's besides the point.

Right now, Cordelia Chase was facing the strangest thing her mind could ever fathom.

"So..." Cordelia started, addressing the English ex-watcher sitting next to her at the counter while looking up at the stairs, "How many tacos has she eaten this week?"

Sifting through some papers in a manila folder, Wesley glanced up and turned his sights to the stairs, "Uh... I'd say at least three a day for the past two weeks actually. So..." Just as soon as he had started the calculations, he gave up. He really had other things to occupy his mind with at the moment, "Quite a bit." He supplied before turning back to his file.

"Huh." Cordelia leaned forward on her elbows and frowned. "And she hasn't left her room at all?"

"Nope."

"That's impossible!" Wesley jumped at her outburst and Cordelia just shook her head. She really couldn't believe it, "She hasn't gained a pound!" She stared at him in disbelief, "Not _one_!"

Taken aback at the sudden turn of this conversation, Wesley looked up at Cordelia with a look of disbelief. Honestly though, he shouldn't have been that surprised. It was Cordelia after all.

Chocolate colored eyes turned to him. Cordelia's hand cut through the air towards the stairs in a gesture that only Cordelia Chase could pull off, "How is it possible that she's eaten all those tacos and hasn't gained any weight?!" She lowered her arm and scoffed, "If that were me, I'd be morbidly fat and rushing to find some Denise Austin workout videos just so I could show my face again."

"Well," Wesley adjusted his glasses, "Maybe she's not eating them right away." He leaned back and crossed his arms, "Maybe she's stashing some away for later." He pushed himself out of his seat and grabbed his file, "She was a starved for the better part of five years, it's just another survival skill that she picked."

"Yeah," Cordelia frowned, "But she doesn't need to anymore. Why doesn't she just stop?"

"Because she's not use to having food whenever she pleases. Just like she's not use to having friends in the next room." Wesley pulled open a drawer and slipped the file back under S. The Stantons were worried about a ghost haunting their house. After spending a night investigating, Wesley had discovered that it was just a leaky pipe and a miswired light fixture. Predictably, the family refused to pay, not that he could blame them really. "She could be worried that this is all just a dream or that something will happen and she will have neither food nor friends." He turned back to Cordelia, who was staring at him blankly, "It's all very basic psychology."

"Yu-huh." Was Cordelia's response, "I still think she should have gained at least a pound." Wesley rolled his eyes in response, but Cordy just ignored it. She hopped off her stool and walked around the counter, "I think I'm gonna go catch a movie. That movie starring Brad Pitt just came out and I am _dying _to see it. Wanna come?"

"I think I'll pass," Wesley searched through the filing cabinet under the letter H, "The Hendricks believe that their six year old daughter is possessed by a demon. I promised them Gunn and I would stop by and investigate around 8 o'clock."

"Ah, one of those." Cordelia nodded and stared at nothing as she remembered the last possession she had dealt with, "Yeah, the last one is still a little too fresh in my mind." She shook her head and smiled, "I think I'll pass on that whole backwards language and green spew thing." She grabbed her purse from the round couch in the lobby of the Hyperion and started towards the door, "Have fun!"

"Oh, yes." Wesley's sardonic remark flew out, "I much enjoyed when that little boy set my hair on fire. I hope little Andrea Hendricks will be just as much fun."

The end of the comment hit deaf ears as Cordelia had already walked out. Wesley didn't really expect her to stay while he had muttered to himself. Glancing at the clock – 7:00 – Wesley decided it was time to leave and head to the Hendricks' home. Gunn had already agreed to meet him with a few of the supplies they would need if it was in fact a possession. The Ex-Watcher grabbed a black bag sitting on the desk behind the counter and walked out to the lobby. He was about to head out the door that Cordelia had walked through just seconds before when he heard it.

"AaAaaahHhhHhhh!"

The familiar sound of Cordelia's scream echoed throughout the Hyperion hotel. Without thought, Wesley dropped his bag and ran out after her. She was lying on the sidewalk, dangerously close to traffic, writhing on the ground and holding her head. Immediately, Wesley was by her side and struggling to pull the resistant girl closer to the hotel and away from traffic. Cradling her close to him, he tried to do everything he could to make her as physically comfortable as possible and reduce and physical pain her (writhing) could cause her.

Finally, she snapped up with a gasp and a sweaty brow. Her brown eyes were wide and she paid no attention to the cool Californian night air on her sweaty skin.

What she had seen was like something out of a bad nightmare. Like usual. There had been metal tables and people strapped down to them. Doctors had been cutting into them. Some people had been in what looked to be cages. Not all of the victims were human either. At least not anymore. There had been bodies, body parts, and gallons of blood.

She felt very queasy.

"Oh, God..."


	3. C'mon, How Bad Could It Be? Oh, That's N

AN:

May I just say, I hate it when authors make an already established character and give them powers out of the blue with no rhyme or reason. I've never read one that I thought was well written... that doesn't mean I won't attempt one ever, it'd be an interesting challenge... as for this fic... you'll just have to wait and see! :)

Also, for those who were uncertain about the first chapter concerning Remy, the hospital, and Angel... he was outside in a tree right next to the window (It kinda says it at the very end of the chapter). Hence Angel's inability to smell him & him being able to see/hear everything going on. :) Besides, it's a hospital, and I noticed that whenever Angel is a little too occupied with something, he tends to miss people's scents. (Buffy, Faith, etc...)

_C'mon, How Bad Could It Be? Oh, That's Not Good..._

"I'm _fine!_"

Cordelia snapped at an overly concerned Wesley. Honestly though, she was far from fine and she knew it. Her head pounded, burned, and felt like it was going to explode all at the same time. Yet her pride always kept her from telling them, even though she knew they had already figured it out. It wasn't like they could actually do anything anyway. Actually... if she said one word, she knew Angel would try to jump to the rescue and get the PTB to get rid of her visions.

She couldn't lose them.

Stupid Angel and his heroics...

"You said they were in a white room? Like a hospital room maybe?" After calling Gunn, Wesley had taken out a notebook and a pen. Gunn hadn't minded his absence. Little Andrea Hendricks had just turned out to be an obnoxious little girl who like to kick tall black men in the shins and pull her parent's hair. Gunn was more than content to go home for the night while Wesley stayed at the Hyperion with Cordelia. And stayed he did. He had asked her question after question about her vision, pausing only to give her a rest and ask if she was alright.

His concern was sweet, but so totally annoying.

"Yes to white, no to hospital." She rubbed her temples, a useless tactic.

"Was there anything specific in your vision? Location, a person, an artifact, or even just a feeling perhaps?" Wesley scribbled notes down on his little notepad.

"_A feeling_?" She looked up at him as if he were insane, "You mean besides the _feeling_ of utter terror, the _feeling_ of being cut off from any living thing, Oh! and not to mention the _feeling of_ _excruciating PAIN!_"

Wesley cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Sorry." He muttered before quickly writing in his notes.

"You know," Cordelia started, catching Wesley's attention, "I tell you _everything_ I know, and yet you insist on drilling me." She looked up and glared at him, "I have _nothing_ left." She snatched her purse off the desk and glared back at the ex-Watcher, "I'm tired. I'm going home to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She started towards the doors.

"Wait, Cordelia." His pleas were answered with sigh of defeat as she turned around. The tired look on her face caught Wesley by surprised. They had all known that her visions took a toll on her, but the exhausted look on her face was not what he had expected from the normally chipper Sunnydale survivor. Clearing his throat again, he asked the question that had been plaguing his mind, "Normally the Powers give you a place or a time to help us stop the atrocity. Why have you not said when or where?"

"I just know it didn't happen in California." Her voice was hoarse and tired. She didn't even look at Wesley when she spoke.

Surprised, Wesley crossed the floor to stand next to her at the bottom of the stairs to the door. The past tense hadn't escaped his attention, "Why would the Powers send you a vision of something that is not within California, let alone one that has already happened?"

With a dead stare on the Watcher, Cordelia told him the one thing she had already deduced herself. After all, she had had the visions for over a year, there was only one logical explanation for one like this.

"Maybe it's a warning of what's coming."

xXx

Time Jump!

(After _Billy_ – Before _Offspring_)

"Oh, c'mon!" Cordelia shouted into the air. "Dennis," She whined, "could ya help a girl out once in a while?"

Dennis, always looking out for his favorite still-breathing girl, gently lowered her favorite coffee mug off the high shelf and into her waiting hands.

With a satisfied sigh, Cordelia carefully climbed off the chair she had pulled up earlier. "Thanks, Dennis." She mumbled before pouring the coffee into her mug. She really wasn't sure if Dennis thought her stupid or just didn't care, but she knew he had put the mug up there. She couldn't even reach it on the chair, and besides, it _is_ her favorite mug, she always put it in the bottom half of the cabinet. This actually happened a lot with a _lot_ of things. Cordelia just decided that he liked to help her out. It really was nice sometimes. She didn't have any complaints about it as long as he helped her out when she asked.

Finding a comfy spot on the couch, Cordelia curled up with her coffee and took a delicate sip. Oh, yes... just all sorts of wonderfulness. Another content sigh and Cordelia glanced around her apartment. A wonderful apartment with a wonderful ghost. Yup, her life was officially weird. And in a strange, very disturbing way, it was comforting.

Well, except for those excruciating visions of hers...

"AaAaaaaAaaaahhhhH!"

Cordelia fell to the floor, her favorite coffee mug flying and smashing against the opposite side of the room. Again.

_Cordelia was running down the white hallway, her body bloody and tired, but she couldn't stop, she was afraid. _ _She now laid strapped to a metal bed, a group of people standing above her with strange equipment, they lowered them down towards her eyes. She screamed. A man was chained to the ceiling and was hanging limply, blood dripped from his body towards the floor. Another sat in an office, his heart racing with fear, his hands and ankles bound as he listened so another man speak. A woman screamed and thrashed. A demon howled in agony. _

_Red eyes..._

The deep gasp was almost as much of a shock as the vision itself. Cordelia rolled onto her side and cradled her head. A strangled sob escaped her. She could still feel the cuts and the bruises, the cuts to her eyes... it was all so wrong. She knew there were no more physical manifestations, not since Angel did as Wolfram & Hart wanted and then killed the vision hacker. It was almost as if whatever Wolfram & Hart had done had opened a flood gate. Her visions had doubled, if not tripled, in pain and she could still feel the physical effects of her visions as if the manifestations were still there, though there were no physical marks to show for it.

With another sob, Cordelia allowed herself another two hours on the floor, paying no mind as Dennis covered her in a blanket and lowered a pillow near her. She could almost swear she could feel him trying to massage her back. Physically, it did nothing for the Angel Investigations founder, but emotionally, it helped more than he could have ever imagined.

xXx

"Hey."

Wesley shot Cordelia an irate look, "You're two hours late, Cordelia." He clucked his tongue and shook his head, "You were suppose to help Fred look up the last known locations of the Nyazian Scroll." With a sigh, Wesley pulled off his glasses in that oh so Giles-y way and began cleaning them. "I understand your tardiness on days where we have nothing on the agenda, but I specifically asked you to come in early to help Fred out." With another sigh he slipped back on his glasses, "She's still getting use to researching demons and translating demon languages."

"Ugh," Cordelia scoffed, "Relax, Wesley, Fred's a quick study, she doesn't even really need my help. Besides it's not like I didn't have a good reason." She walked towards his desk and threw her jacket on it. She ignored his expectant look as she sat in the chair across from him and crossed her legs, "I had another vision."

"I see." It must be his automatic response or something, but always polite Wesley, he never asked her why one vision took her two hours to get to work, "What was this vision of?"

"Remember that one of the white room and the lab tables I had about a month or so back?"

Wesley stiffened, "You've had another one?"

Cordelia gave him a thin smile, "Yup."

Without a moment to spare, Wesley was up and out of his seat. He began pulling open drawers and looking through files, "Was it the same thing? Or did you see something more?" He was so calm and collected about it.

"Oh, I saw more." When he turned to see if she meant something more than just what she had said, he saw the look of trepidation stretched out on her face. Slowly, he lowered himself back into his chair, file forgotten. With his full attention now, Cordelia continued, "I saw people, demons, all of them being cut open and tortured."

"Corde-"

"I was there."

Frozen, Wesley could only say one word, "What?"

"Wesley," Cordelia rolled her head into her hands, but kept eye contact with her long time friend. It was in this moment Cordelia realized just how close she had become with Wesley. Sure, she was close with Angel, Gunn, and even Fred now, but Wesley was the one she went to about her visions, the one she usually researched with. Wesley was her best friend and she loved him. In a total fraternaltype of way. "They were cutting into _me_. Like I was some sort of _experiment_!" With an exasperated sigh, Cordelia pushed out of her chair and began pacing the room, her arms crossed anxiously across her chest.

"Oh, dear..." Wesley muttered. He watched Cordelia for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. Finally, he asked another question, "Did you notice where this took place? Or when even?"

Cordelia just nodded, but her pace didn't slow down, "Soon." She glanced out the window and into the lobby. Angel was standing out there, chatting with an enthusiastically gesturing Fred. With a shake of her head, Cordelia shook the sight out of her head and answered the other part of his question, "I'm not sure where exactly... but I got a very New York-y feeling."

"_New York_?!" Wesley shot up from his desk, "That's all the way across the country!"

"DUH!" Cordelia shouted and glared at him. Realizing his mistake, Wesley slowly inched his way back into his chair, "You think I get to choose where these things happen, Wesley?! I'm going to be taken all the way _across the country_ to be _cut open_!"

"I didn't mean it like that, Cordy." Wesley explained. He pushed out of his chair once more and walked towards her, "We need to tell the others."

"Could we leave out the part where I get attacked by the knife wielding doctors? 'Cause I don't want them freaking out over nothing."

Cordelia's pleas were denied as Wesley stared at her in disbelief, "It's not nothing, Cordelia. Whatever's going to happen involves _you_. They have just as much a right to know that as you do. You are a part of our team. We must know everything in order to keep this from happening," He looked up and stared meaningfully at Cordelia, "and to keep you safe."

With a sigh, Cordelia nodded, touched by his obvious friendship, "Alright. Let's get out there..." She motioned for Wesley to walk out first. Complying, he brushed past Cordelia, "But you're doing the talking."

"Everyone!" Wesley shouted as he and Cordelia walked up towards Angel and Fred. "We need to talk." Wesley stopped and looked around the lobby, "Where's Gunn?"

"Oh!" Fred jumped and gave one of her blushingly endearing smiles, "Charles just went out to talk to some of his contacts," Fred giggled at that word, "He should be back soon." She turned to Angel with an excited smile, "Isn't that neat? Charles has contacts."

"Uh-huh." Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well my contacts are much more higher up than his." At Fred's confused stare, Cordelia clarified, "I had a vision this morning."

"What?" Angel was immediately next to Cordelia, looking her over. Cordelia glared at him and pushed him back, "Are you OK?"

"I'm _fine_!" She snapped and pushed her hair back, "God, why do you people keep asking me that?!" She pushed past Angel and went to her desk. She started sifting through her papers, trying to keep herself busy.

"I'm back!" Gunn's declaration rang throughout the the hotel. He jogged down the steps and into the lobby, "No one's talking about the Nyazian Scroll or prophecy." He grinned and pointed a knowing finger at Wesley, "Though there is this one guy that keeps poppin' up. I'm gonna pop by his place tomorrow and see what he knows," Gunn headed towards the round couch in the center of the lobby and plopped down into the seat, "but right now, I am _beat_!" Suddenly noticing the lack of response for the first time, Gunn glanced at Cordelia then Angel, Fred, then finally Wesley, "I miss somethin'?"

"Cordelia had a vision," Angel supplied, keeping his gaze fixed on the self busy girl.

"About time!" Gunn hopped to his feet. "So what's the demon? Ooze monster? Possessed cat? Or one of those nasty Garlic Demons?"

"I was just getting to that actually." Wesley kept a very professional appearance as all eyes turned to him, just proving how much he had grown. He hadn't even tried to correct Gunn's pronunciation of the Gaerilic demon. He kept his back straight and his head held high. Wesley tried to deliver his message in the most professional manner possible, "It was of a lab. Experiments were being run on humans and demons alike."

"Alright." Angel took a step forward, "So, where is this lab at? We got any leads on who's behind it? Wolfram & Hart maybe?"

"New York."

"New York?!" Angel, Fred, and Gunn all jumped up and stared incredulously at Wesley. Angel took a few more steps forward, "Why would the Powers send a vision of something that's happening in New York?"

"Because apparently Cordelia's going to be taken there."

"What?" Angel spun towards the girl in question.

Finally looking up from whatever it was she was doing, Cordelia rolled her eyes and scoffed, "It's not a big deal. I disappear, you know where to find me."

"No." Angel frowned and crossed the floor to stand near her, "You disappear, we know what _state_ you're in. How are we suppose to find you?"

"Angel-"

"No."

Cordelia looked up at him in surprise and somewhat anger, "Excuse me?"

"One of us going to stay with you at all times." He clarified, ignoring her unhappy look, "We'll take shifts." The last part he stated towards the rest of the team, who only nodded in agreement.

"Now, wait a minute." Cordelia hurriedly made her way to the center of the lobby, "Don't I get any say in this?"

Still standing by Cordelia's desk, Angel shook his head, "No."

Seeing this as her last ray of hope, she turned to Wesley, "Wesley..."

Her long time friend merely sighed, "I have to agree with Angel, Cordy." At her look of disbelief, Wesley continued, "If something is going to happen, wouldn't you prefer that one of us was there to try and stop it, or to at least gather some clue as to who's behind it or where they're taking you?"

Unable to fight against logic, Cordelia let her self plop down onto the round sofa, "I guess."

"Then it's decided." Everyone turned to Angel, "I'll take the night shift."

xXx

Cordelia frowned as she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge, then a bag of O-neg. "Here." She handed it to Angel.

"Thanks." He cut it open and poured it into his designated coffee mug. Cordelia refused to let him use any of her other mugs, claiming it was gross and if he wanted to use a different cup he needed to bring it himself. He honestly didn't mind. Cordelia was probably the only one in his crew who kept a small supply of blood in her fridge for him.

Angel looked up at the girl as he took a sip of blood. She pulled the bottle from her lips and stared back at him. An uneasy smile formed on her face and her eyebrows smushed together, "What?"

"Nothing, just-" Angel cut himself off and frowned.

"Just...?" She prompted.

"You know we aren't going to let anything happen to you." He stared at her for a second longer, watching her face react to the statement. "Right?"

A heavy sigh and a plunk into the dining room chair later, Cordelia gave Angel a dismal look, "I know, it's just..." She took in a breath and watched as Angel slowly lowered himself into the seat next to hers. She turned towards him, "It was a vision, Angel." She shook her head, "I'm scared it's gonna happen and-"

"We won't let it happen." Angel cut her off and grabbed her hand from across the table. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

"It _needs_ to."

The unexpected response caught Angel's throat. His grip on her hand tightened and his face crumpled into confusion. "What?"

"It needs to happen." Cordelia pulled her hand away from his and stood. She pursed her lips and began walking circles around the table, "I don't know why, but I feel like it's something that _has_ to happen." She stopped and shot Angel a pleading look, "Is that crazy?"

"Yes!" Angel shot up and crossed the kitchen towards his closest friend, "Why would you _have_ to be kidnapped to New York? Be tortured?" He gently grabbed her shoulders, "Cordy..."

"Angel." Now it was her turn to cut him off, "I know I'm suppose to be scared and terrified..." Her eyes wandered a bit, "And I am, but..." She took in a deep breath, "I think I'm gonna be OK. I mean," She shot him a hopeful smile, "The Powers wouldn't make me go and be tortured like that without helping me, right? Or not without good reason." She stopped and blinked, "A really really _really_ good reason." A frowned turned down the Queen C's lips, "If they torture me for no reason, I'm gonna kick their ass."

"Cordy." Angel's voice was strong and determined, "Even if it's something The Powers think needs to happen, there is no way we're gonna let it." He caught her eyes with his and stared intently into the, "Understand?"

Cordelia just nodded.

"Good." His eyes drifted behind her and he sighed, "It's late, you should probably get some sleep."

Cordelia nodded again and motioned towards her living room, "I got the couch set up for you. Well... I threw a sheet out there. But you can just use to the decorative pillows." She shot him a big smile.

Angel just chuckled and shook his head, "Vampire, remember? I sleep during the day." He grinned and shrugged, "I'll probably just watch TV or something."

The wide smile drifted into a small one. Cordelia's hand reached out and squeezed Angel's shoulder gently, "Night." She passed by him and headed towards her bedroom.

"Good night, Cor."

The second he heard the quiet 'click' of her door, Angel sprung into action. He dashed around the corner behind where Cordelia had been standing, and grabbed the strange man who'd been hiding in the living room by his jacket. The man struggled to get out of his grip, but it was no use. Angel slammed him up against the wall and the man grunted in pain.

"All right," Angel started and leaned his face in close, "Who do you work for and what do they want with Cordelia?"

The man didn't respond but kept his eyes intently on Angel. Too intently. A small creak and a sudden move of air. Angel, hands still holding onto the man, ducked just in time to dodge the punch, spun, and threw the man at the one behind him.

And froze as the man he threw disappeared into the other man... who looked exactly the same.

"Huh?"

The man grinned.

Angel felt like he was having a nightmare. A very weird nightmare. The man wasn't super strong or fast, and didn't seem to be super intelligent, but... he was duplicating himself! Angel was at a loss of what to do, the clones were filling up the entire living room. Deciding there was only one thing to do, Angel threw a punch at one of the clones, catching his chin. His confidence returned when he realized that this man (and all his clones) weren't masters of fighting and in fact only seemed to know the very basics. He probably never had to learn too much, he had the power of numbers. But as Angel threw punch after kick after throw after push, a realization hit him.

Cordelia!

Angel turned, trying to make his way to Cordelia's room. He barely noticed when the men slowly began to dissipate. By the time he forced Cordelia's door open, they had disappeared completely.

"_Cordelia?!_"

And so had Cordelia.


	4. This Is Why I Hate Hospitals

_And This Is Why I Hate Hospitals..._

It took Cordelia a good 20 to 30 minutes to drive between her apartment and work.

It took Angel 10.

He burst through the front doors of the Hyperion and crossed over to the office in the back, expecting to see Wesley, Gunn, and Fred already there and researching whatever it was that was coming. Oh, Angel found them there alright. The open texts, notebooks, and laptops were currently acting as pillows.

"Wake up!" Angel barked as he marched towards the trio and threw one of the books against the wall for good measure.

If his bark hadn't woken them up, the bam of the book did.

"Angel?" Wesley question as he straightened his glasses, "What's going on? Is Cordelia alright?"

"No!"

They all jumped at the snap.

Wesley was quickly on his feet, his hands gripping the desk tightly, "What happened?"

xXx

Headaches were really nothing new to Cordelia. She had them several times a week, whether or not she had one of those damned visions. The worst one, by far was that day she was in the hospital under that Vocal's spell or whatever his stupid name was. The next one in line was the very last one she had during Wolfram & Hart's hijacking scheme. The third one, even if it hadn't been physically the most painful, was her very very first vision. That one couldn't have come at the worst time, and not just because she was in an audition, but she been just about to break over the loss of one of her best friends. It reminded her too much, too soon about him.

Thoughts on Doyle really weren't what she needed right now. Now, she needed to figure out where she was.

Of course it would help if she wasn't strapped to a table!

Cordelia forced her very heavy, painful eyelids open. She rolled her head to the side with a surprising amount of force needed for the simple action. Her eyes scanned what they could through the blurry haze and her breath choked up in her throat. She was here. She was in that lab from her vision. She wanted to let out a sob, but nothing came out. Her dark eyes watered and the tears leaked out of the corners. She wanted to struggle, to cry out, call for help, do something to let someone out there know she was awake, but she couldn't move anything.

In all her years, Cordelia Chase had been called many things. Most of them, she didn't really care about or take any real offense to; she had no denials about the kind of person she was. She was a bitch, she was superficial, a brat, and she was blunt, but she also cared about people. She didn't show it a lot, but she worried for people, her friends, her old High School gang (the Cordettes and the Scoobies), her clients, and even people she had only met through courtesy of her visions.

But no matter how many times Angel tried to convince her she was, she had never seen herself as brave. The day she was to be May Queen and that inviso-girl kidnapped her and Buffy, she freaked. The day Drusilla and those vampires killed Kendra, she fled. During Homecoming, when she was mistaken for Faith (God help her), Buffy had to calm her out of a panic attack. She didn't even have the courage to face Xander after he kissed Willow. Moving to LA hadn't helped as much as she had hoped, either. She had wanted to prove to herself that she could make it on her own, without Daddy's money or legal breaking ways (not that she had much of a choice in that matter). Then there was that whole fiasco with Russell Winters, if Angel hadn't been there to save her, she had no idea what she would have done. Then she let that old lady ghost get the best of her, sure she got back up to her feet on that one, but that was after she realized the ghost wasn't like the other nightly bumps and couldn't hurt her unless she let her. There were countless other times, the one still fresh in her mind being the hijacking and Billy.

The tears only increased as all the times flashed before her eyes. She really wished Angel was here to protect her, like he promised her he would always do. She was terrified.

A sound reached Cordelia's clogged ears and terrified turned to something greater. A cold hand, belonging to someone Cordelia couldn't see through the blur, harshly grabbed her jaw and turned her head towards the ceiling. She could hear some more noises through the stuffy ears, and though she couldn't see it, she knew a few other people gathered around her. Muffled words were exchanged and blurred objects passed.

It was hard to miss the shine of the needle as it lowered near her wide eyes.

If she could have, Cordelia would have screamed.

xXx

However much time had passed, Cordelia was fully aware of it. She had a feeling that she hadn't been there for as long as she felt like she was. Every inch of her body was sore and throbbing, except her head, and for that she was somewhat grateful. This pain she was feeling now hurt more than they ever had in those areas, but not as bad as her head after a vision.

Cordelia laid in a small white room helplessly, dressed in a flimsy white hospital gown, and a strange collar loosely around her neck with tears streaming down her cheeks. She wasn't strapped down this time, but if she was it wouldn't have mattered. She still found it hard to move, and it wasn't because of whatever drug they had given her when they stuck her in the eye several times. They had done things all over her body, like they were testing her muscles, and now her muscles were just exhausted.

There wasn't a noise, but a surprisingly bright light when the door to the small room opened. Cordelia rose her head slightly and covered her eyes with her arm as two people walked in, not saying a word. A noise squeaked from Cordelia's throat as they lifted her up by her arms and led her out of the tiny room.

"No..." the word managed to escape her lips, but the two people didn't seem to notice.

Cordelia noticed something though. Something that the two of them should have done but hadn't. Sure they were holding her up, but just under her armpits. Her hands themselves hung between her and her captors. And one of them had a gun uncovered and in full sight and reach of her hand.

Angel had only just started teaching her self defense, and even then it hadn't been anything that she could actually win a fight with – as he was actually believing that he was gonna be there in time to save her – but it was enough.

Screw the exhausted muscles! Cordelia snatched the pistol, not missing how quickly the black man reacted and pulled her wrist back before he could grab it. She threw her weight back, not so much surprising the man as she had surprised the woman. Cordelia slipped from the woman's grasp, but the large man managed to keep his grip.

Luckily, Cordelia had a gun.

Guns had never been Cordelia's weapon of choice. She was more familiar with the crossbow, but her mind worked that they were somewhat similar. She pressed the gun against the man's arm and pulled the trigger.

He let out a scream and let go of her.

Cordelia had been expecting him to let go of her, she hadn't expected the blowback. As small as it was, it still caught her by surprise. She stumbled back, felt her knees give out, and stumbled to the floor. She looked up to watch as the woman, a pretty girl about her age with long wavy chocolate brown hair, stalked towards her.

She raised the gun, still tightly clutched in her weak hand, at the woman. The woman froze and glanced back at the man who was standing behind her, clutching his bleeding forearm. With narrowed eyes the woman disappeared.

Cordelia blinked. Oh, that was not good.

When the man started towards her again, Cordelia pulled the trigger again, this time prepared for the blowback. She hit the man in the same shoulder as his wounded arm and he stumbled back. Cordelia caught the look behind her a second too late and felt an arm wrap tightly around her throat. A strangled cry left her and she scratched at the arm. It was when she watched the man take a step towards her again, that she managed to assess her way out of this current situation.

She pulled up her gun, shot the man once more, this time hitting him in the stomach (where she had been aiming last time). Then she brought the gun around her chest and over her shoulder and when she felt the gun make contact with an object that wasn't hers, she pulled the trigger again. By the time she had done this, her vision had already been speckled with black spots. Luckily, the woman's shoulder was the victim (as intended), and the girl sprawled backwards.

Coughing and gasping for breath – not an easy feat to do at the same time, mind you – Cordelia pushed herself to her feet and ran around the corner. The second she saw the hallway, she had a sudden feeling of deja vu. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was indeed covered with blood. Thank God, it wasn't hers! Cordelia continued her teetering run down the hall, hoping to the Powers that those two weren't following her and were unconscious on the floor.

She turned around another corner and gasped as someone grabbed her throat. The gun clattered by her feet.

Only, this time the enemy was definitely not human. He was incredibly tall, but at the moment all Cordelia's mind could gather was that he was much taller than anyone she had ever seen. He was hairy. To put it simply, he looked like he was the spawn between some mutant cat and Goliath.

Cordelia let out a whimper as he lifted her off the ground by her throat. She gripped his wrist with both her hands, trying to let up the pressure on her throat. She whimpered again when he actually growled at her.

Suddenly the strange creature let out a cry and dropped her to the floor. Looking up from her new favorite spot, Cordelia watched as the large kitty turned to face off with... a very short man. A feeling of dread washed over her, there was no way that little man was gonna be able to hold his own against the kitty on steroids.

_Shhinkt!_

A pair of three metal claws popped out of the man's knuckles. Then he pounced. It was the only word Cordelia could use to describe the action. The two started going at it like... well, like two cats actually. It was kinda weird.

Chocolate eyes landed on the gun laying just a few feet away. Cordelia may not have known who the short man was, but she knew that she didn't much care for the large cat. She grabbed the gun in her shaky hands, pointed, and pulled. The kitty let out a screech and turned towards her, as if the gun shot hadn't done much damage. She pulled it again, and the cat stumbled back a little. The short man jumped onto the things back and jammed his claws into it's shoulders, causing it to roar in pain. She pulled the trigger again, only to hear an empty click. Another whimper, and Cordelia pushed herself onto her feet as she watched the cat thrash about, trying to get the short man off his back.

She was out of bullets, but she wasn't out of weapons. The cat continued to thrash, but for the most part it stayed facing her, as if it wanted to keep her in its line of vision now.

The gun whacked him dead in the face.

The unexpected hit was enough to shock it for a split second and for the short man to get in a sucker stab to the back. The creature screamed, grabbed the short man, threw him over its shoulder, and fled.

Cordelia had to dive to miss the flying man.

She slowly stood up and stared as the blood covered man pushed himself to his feet. They both stood there and stared at each other for a moment, the man taking in her equally blood covered appearance.

"Y'alright, kid?" His voice was much gruffer than she expected for some reason.

She rose an eyebrow and tried to bite out a spiteful reply, only to double over in a series of coughing fits.

The next thing she knew, she was in the man's arms and he was running down the hall. She would have yelled at him if she had the voice for it, but her throat was too dry. So instead, she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and let him carry her as he ran. For a short man, he was pretty damn fast.

"Wolverine!"

The man skidded to a stop and looked over his shoulder, as did Cordelia. A tiny girl came running up. She was about the same size as Buffy, but a good four inches taller. Her brown hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and she had large light brown eyes. She rose an eyebrow at the two of them, noticing Cordelia for the first time.

"What is it with you and picking up strange women?" She asked jokingly, as she held a door open for them to stroll through.

"Sabretooth," was his one worded gruff response as he sat her down on one of the computer chairs.

Cordelia didn't miss the girl's eye roll. The girl's demeanor changed and she smiled brightly at Cordelia, "I'm Kitty."

Seriously, what was it with cats today?

Learning from her mistake earlier, she cleared her throat, hoping her words came out clear and non-throaty, "Cordelia."

Kitty smiled brightly at her before turning her attention to the behind her, "Logan, look at this."

The man looked over Kitty's shoulder and at the screen, "Tell me where, half-pint."

"It looks like..." Kitty started typing quickly on the keyboard, her eyes riveted to the screen. In that split second, Cordelia was reminded of Willow, "Third floor, east side."

"On it," Logan turned and sending Cordelia a hard glare, he pointed a stern finger at her, "Stay with Kitty," he then ran out of the room.

"Don't worry," Kitty's voice chimed in happily, "we won't be here much longer."

"Where are we?"

Kitty looked up, a pitying look crossing her features as she took in Cordelia's appearance for the first time, "A lab in New York City," she shook her head sadly, "A not very nice man likes to kidnap mutants and perform experiments on them. He took some of ours."

Mutants? As much as Cordelia's mind wanted to analyze that statement, she forced it somewhere else, "How'd you track him down?"

"A friend of ours use to work for him," she kept her eyes intently on the screen, a sad look on her face, "He'd been to this facility before."

Cordelia pushed herself out of the chair and staggered over towards Kitty, intent on seeing the black and white screen. A young girl with long dark hair and light stripes was strapped down screaming and thrashing on a metal table. Cordelia frowned at the very familiar scene. Then the screen changed to show a man hanging from the ceiling, blood dripping down his body. Luckily, there was a woman and a strange furry man helping to lower him down.

"They got Scott," Kitty chimed in. Cordelia glanced over at her and noticed the ear piece for the first time, "No one's gotten to Rogue yet..." she trailed off.

The screen had changed again, this time it was the demon from her vision. He laid on the floor in a room very similar to where Cordelia had been only moments ago. She could practically hear the howl of agony coming from him.

"Um..." Cordelia looked over at Kitty who looked confused and surprised, "Guys, you're not gonna believe this, but Kurt Wagner is here," Cordelia looked back at the screen and frowned, "According to the blueprints here," Cordelia's eyes jumped to another monitor and saw what looked like blueprints to a large building. Is that where they were? "it looks like he's on the fifth floor, north side."

Cordelia moved around Kitty to her other side, her eyes glued to the blueprints. She pointed at an area, "Is this where we are?"

Kitty glanced up and nodded, "Yeah," she answered distractedly, "Hey, have any of you guys seen Gambit?" she paused and frowned as, what Cordelia assumed, was a response, "No, he's not answering and no one's gotten to Rogue yet."

They were missing one of their friends? Cordelia's mind jumped back to her vision, back to the man in the office. Suddenly her eyes stuck on an area of the blueprints. Was this why the Powers wanted her to be taken here? To help them find their friend? Was he so important to their plans that they were willing to let their only direct link to Angel be taken and tortured? She could easily recall the fear that had swarmed over him in the vision. It was the same fear that she had felt when they played with her eyes.

"I know where he is."

Kitty snapped her attention back to Cordelia, "What? Where?!" Kitty jumped off her chair and stared at the blueprints that Cordelia had been staring at so intently.

Cordelia pointed to the area on the map, "We have to hurry," Without another word, Cordelia ran out of the security room and into the halls. Remembering the blueprints, it took her no time to find the stairs (she assumed the elevators where a no go as they usually were when break ins were involved), and with the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she paid no mind to her exhausted muscles.

Three flights of stairs later, and Cordelia had finally hit the seventh floor. Her lungs burned, and her muscles had passed the burning phase and had jumped straight to the barely there phase. Putting most of her weight on the wall, Cordelia stumbled down the hallway, her mind going into a hazy blur again. What was she doing? She was never the one to just jump like this. She told others where to go and they went running. She stayed at the hotel, researching, doing interviews, finding cases, she didn't go trouncing into danger like this. _She_ didn't have a death wish.

But that vision.

She had to make sure that everything ended OK. That the man in the office was fine. The other people in her vision had been found without her help. They were just guide posts to let her know that he was there somewhere and to prompt her into looking. She stopped in front of the door, the deja vu feeling coming back as she stared at it. She gripped the handle and tried to open it. It was locked.

She must have been moving a lot slower than she thought, because three people came running up behind her. Cordelia quickly recognized the short Logan guy, one was an incredibly tall gorgeous man with very defined features, and the other one was a girl that was her height with long blonde hair.

"I told you to stay with Kitty!" the short man shouted at her.

Cordelia just rolled her eyes and backed away from the door, "There," she whispered hoarsely.

All three shared a look before the short man and the girl stepped back. Cordelia watched with wide eyes as the tall handsome man suddenly became a tall metal man. His fist flew towards the door and with a loud _bang!_ it flew off its hinges. The three rushed in, Cordelia bringing up the rear and deciding that the door frame was far enough.

Sure enough, there he was tied to a chair. His eyes were closed, his face lolled to the side battered and bruised. After the short man cut off his restraints, the metal man picked him up as easy as paper.

The blonde girl turned to her with accusing eyes, "How'd ya know he was here?"

Cordelia saw her lips move, but heard nothing. She was too busy trying to hear anything else besides the blood rushing through her ears. And that's when the very familiar feeling started to build up.

A blood curling scream unleashed and Cordelia flew backwards out of the room's threshold. She held her head in pain and thrashed about on the floor. She didn't notice the people that had gathered around her. She was having another vision...

_A young girl was sprinting down a dark alley, constantly looking over her shoulder. She passed a street sign. Park Ave. A man was running after her, he too looking over his shoulder. He was young. He stopped and waved his hand strangely. The girl now struggled against a group of vampires. More than two bit into her. She screamed. The man cried over her. He no longer had his jacket and his sleeves were rolled up revealing a tattoo as he covered the deceased girl._

OK, as visions go, that was one of the less painful variety.

Cordelia pushed herself up and froze. She blinked. She wasn't on the floor anymore. She was in a hospital bed. She looked around. In a very metallic room. She took in a deep breath and rubbed her aching temples. Her eyes landed on the opposite side of the room where a phone sat all metallic and convenient. Cordelia tossed her covers off and threw her legs over the side of the bed. All she had to do was make her way over there and make a phone call. Easy peasy.

"Ah, I didn't notice you woke up."

Cordelia froze and slowly turned around. A sharp yelp left her and she pressed a hand to her heart.

A feral smile stretched across the blue furry face. He chuckled, "My apologies. I forget how startling my appearance can be."

"Um..." Cordelia frowned and looked around, "Where am I?"

"You're at Xavier's Institute For Gifted Youngsters," he cleared the floor towards her and held out a furry hand, "I am Dr. Hank McCoy."

Cordelia blinked a couple of times, trying to place the words he just said in her head. She came up with nothing. After a few seconds, she realized he was still standing there, his arm extended. She flashed him an apologetic smile, "Sorry. I'm Cordelia."

"How are you feeling?" his hand pressed against Cordelia's forehead. She had to blink to make sure his fur didn't get in her eyes.

"Fine..." She pulled her head back and away from his hand.

"Hmm," the doctor frowned at her and looked at her in concern, "You gave my friends quite a scare earlier. Do you remember anything?"

"You mean the cutting and the poking?" Cordelia frowned at looked down at her clothing. They were clean, no blood, and so was she. She also didn't have that wacky collar anymore, "'Cause I don't think I'm gonna be forgetting that any time soon."

Hank gave her a sympathetic smile, "No, I don't imagine you will," he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a pair of blue sweats and a sweatshirt, "I was talking more about the end of your waking moments there though. When you fell to the floor screaming," He handed her the sweats, "Thought you might like to get out of those hospital gowns, most of my patients hate wearing those things."

She smiled and accepted them gratefully, "Thanks," she unfolded them and laid them on the bed. They were both marked with an X in a circle. Weird. She turned her attention back to the doctor beast, "Um... Kitty mentioned something about mutants?" Maybe she'd get lucky and could play her vision off as a mutant gift! That's how those worked right? They didn't have only certain abilities, they ranged from being super strong to telepathy, right?

"Yes," he flashed her a friendly smile. Well, as friendly as he could flash she imagined, "we are all mutants here. That's actually what this school is for: helping mutants. You're safe here."

"Oh," maybe she could get away with it, "Well... I had a vision," if she hadn't spat it out it wasn't going to come out at all.

Hank froze and looked at her with a frown, "A vision?"

"Yeah. I get those sometimes."

"And..." he was looking at her very strange now. Maybe she wasn't going to get away with it, "do they always hurt like that?"

"Well..." Cordelia let out a nervous chuckle, "Always is such a _strong_ word," her nervous smile was still plastered on her face. Oh, Powers, let this work!

"Strange," he looked completely perplexed as he rubbed his chin. He then wandered over towards something off to the side. It was the first time Cordelia noticed the collar. "Miss...?"

"Oh!" Cordelia's chuckled nervously again, "Chase. My name's Cordelia Chase."

"Do you know what this is?" he handed it to her.

Rolling it around in her hands, she frowned, "Yeah. This was the weird thing that was around my neck when I woke up in that god forsaken place. What is it? Like a tracking device?"

"No, far from it actually," Cordelia handed it back to him and he placed it down on the dolly nearby, "It's a device used to suppress the mutant X gene."

"Huh?" Cordelia rose an eyebrow.

"It's used to keep a mutant's special abilities from being executed."

Cordelia's eyebrows shot up. Oops.

"Oh..."

She really hated doctors...


	5. Never Trust First Impressions

Oh, Remy knew.

He knew the moment he had woken up on the Blackbird on their way back home. He had seen her unconscious on one of the emergency beds in that thing. If seeing her in the hospital two years ago had been nerve wrecking, this one beat the cake. She was laying there unconscious, covered in blood (which he later learned was not hers. _Merci, mon Dieu!_), with tears sliding down the sides of her face. At least he knew she was alive.

It brought back bad memories though. He heard Paige Guthrie talk about how she had screamed and fell to the floor and started thrashing about. The others just assumed it was the result of some strange experiment Sinister did. Remy himself was left confused. He had seen her in the hospital back in LA for the same reason, she had fallen to the floor screaming and crying and thrashing. He had assumed that whatever had caused that had to do with her mutation. But she was wearing a collar... Could he be wrong? She had to be a mutant, Sinister had thought her special enough to snatch her from the other side of the country.

Or did he know?

As much as he hated to admit it, that man knew way too much about his life. It wouldn't surprise him.

He wouldn't put Sinister past mind games either.

Remy groaned and rubbed his face in his hands. At the moment, he was sitting in his room with a bottle of whiskey. He glared at the bottle angrily. He hadn't even opened it yet, but boy was he considering downing the whole thing.

"Hey."

Remy's head snapped up. Rogue was standing in his bedroom doorway, leaning attractively against the frame. A small frown turned her lips down as she strolled in. Her eyes stared at the bottle in his hands, a small amount of disappointment shining in there somewhere.

At this point, guilt would usually wash over him. Rogue had just had a life scaring experience, and here he was ready to drink his sorrows away. Looking up at her, he made a decision. Honestly, he really shouldn't feel guilty.

Remy pushed the bottle at her.

Wordlessly, Rogue snatched the bottle, opened it, and took a long, long drink. Damn. Handing it back to him, Rogue plopped down next to him. He took his turn and took a deep drink. The burn in his throat was good and he let out a slow breath.

"Ah don't blame you."

Remy turned his head towards her, but refused to actually look at her. Honestly, he hadn't thought much about it since he saw his daughter lying on the bed unconscious. Before they had found the lab, he had been wrought with guilt, but now...

Now he was just worried about his daughter.

Remy didn't say anything in response to Rogue's statement. Instead, he draped an arm around her shoulders and took another swig of his drink. She pulled it from his grasp and took one of her own. Rogue, the girl who always held herself at a distance, especially from him, leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

They both sat there in the dark, finding comfort from their unsaid fears.

xXx

"Maybe it was faulty?" Cordelia anxiously supplied.

"Hmmm," Dr. McCoy stared at the collar for a moment before nodding, "Must have been. Though, I must admit, that would be a first."

The second he turned his back, Cordelia let out a breath of relief. She watched as he made his way around a curtain, effectively blocking his view of her. Looking down at the hideous dark blue sweats, Cordelia decided that it was better than the flimsy hospital gown she was wearing at the moment. With a frown, Cordelia quickly stripped and changed clothing. At least it was comfortable.

Not wanting to just stand there, Cordelia wandered around the curtain and caught her breath.

Dr. Hank McCoy was currently checking on an unconscious man. He was covered in bruises and cuts. His skin was extremely pale, like Angel pale. If it wasn't for the swollen cheek, the purple knot on his forehead, or the thick bandages wrapped around his eyes she was sure he would have been the object of her dirty girl dreams. But as it was, he looked horrendous.

"Ms. Chase," Dr. McCoy grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back around the curtain, "perhaps it's not the best idea for you to see him."

"What happened to him?" Cordelia had seen him in her vision, but she hadn't seen what had happened to him. Cordelia was thankful for that. She wasn't sure what it was she would have done had she seen that.

"The man who was experimenting on you," that caught Cordelia's attention. She had yet to connect the knowledge that she had been experimented on. Oh, God... she wasn't going to die was she? She wasn't going to grow a tail or get scales, right? "he has had a particular interest in that man for some time. Why? We aren't sure. All we know was that he put up quite a fight. That's why he was as beat up as he was," Hank shook his head, sad amusement playing on his face, "Summers was never really one to just sit quietly."

Cordelia froze.

Oh, _no_ way. No, way in hell!

Of all the people she had to meet, one was very possibly related to Buffy? Cordelia actually had to roll her eyes. Could she never get away from anything Buffy? Sure, she had a lot of respect for the girl, but honestly, it was kind of annoying how much influence the blonde crybaby had over her life.

Speaking of Buffy...

"Hey," Dr. McCoy looked up at her, "I wouldn't by chance be allowed to make a phone call, would I?"

A bark of laughter caught the Californian by surprise, "Of course, Miss Chase. You aren't under arrest here. You're more than welcome to call your family. I'll even call someone to come take you to a phone that actually calls outside of the Institute. And give you a tour as well, if you want one."

Cordelia smiled as he grabbed the phone she had been eying earlier, "That'd be great!" he wasn't that bad actually, probably the nicest doctor she had ever had.

"Anyone in particular you'd prefer to give you the tour?"

"Well... considering the only other people I've actually met are the tiny angry man and the computer genius..." Cordelia trailed off.

Hank smiled brightly, "Kitty it is."

The next half an hour involved Kitty Pryde showing Cordelia around the Institute. Kitty pointed things out and showed her rooms with a happy enthusiasm that would give Fred a run for her money. Cordelia, for the most part, followed her around somewhat bored, interjecting a comment only once in a while. Cordelia was far from dumb and knew that if something were to happen it would help to have a basic idea as to where she was going. So she followed and listened to Kitty chat happily about her stay at the school. Cordelia herself couldn't figure out why anyone would want to live in a school, granted her High School may have made her a bit biased, but still.

"Hey, not that this hasn't been fun, or anything," Kitty slowed down her pace and looked over at Cordelia, witnessing her large fake smile, "'cause it hasn't, but is there a phone or something here? I have people to call," she raised her eyebrows at Kitty, "you know, friends."

"Oh!" Kitty smiled brightly, not at all deterred by Cordelia's tone, "Definitely. C'mon, you can use the phone in the Professor's office."

Great, Cordelia rolled her eyes, a professor. Another know-it-all doctor who would lecture her on the importance of whatever it was he studied. Like she needed another lecture.

A chuckle cut her thoughts as she and Kitty entered an office, "I assure you, Miss Chase, I have no intentions of lecturing you."

Cordelia froze by the doorway and blinked as Kitty left her alone. She stared at a bald man for a good second before she rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sat down on one of the beautiful leather chairs in front of his desk. The man had good taste at least, "You're that thing where you can hear people's thoughts."

"Telepathic," he supplied with an affirmative nod.

Cordelia just waved her hand dismissively, "Whatever," she murmured, "I need to make a phone call and I don't much appreciate the run around."

The Professor smiled at her and pushed the metallic phone on his desk towards her, "You're welcome to make a phone call at anytime. I apologize if it seems our intentions were less than friendly."

Cordelia barely paid the man any attention as she quickly picked up the handset and dialed. She pressed it up to her ear and waited. As the phone rang, the door to the office cracked open and a head popped in.

"Professor, could I..." the voice trailed off when he noticed the girl in the room, "_Je suis desol__é_. Didn't realize you were busy."

"Not at all, Remy," Xavier smiled at the man, "come on in. I was hoping to talk to you anyhow."

Cordelia only glanced at the man, before turning her attention back to the phone. It continued to ring away as the man took a seat in the leather chair next to her. She pursed her lips and waited impatiently. She could feel both men staring at her and she fought back the urge for another eye roll. Disgusted at how much time it was taking for anyone to pick up the phone, her attention wandered to the word of the day calendar the professor had sitting on his desk.

Her mouth fell open.

"Oh my, God..." her eyes were stuck on that little piece of paper.

"Is something wrong, Miss Chase?" The Professor and the strange man both looked at her in concern.

"Uhm..." she swallowed down the surprisingly large lump in her throat. Her own voice rang in her ears. _Thank you for calling Angel Investigations. We're not able to come to the phone right now, but please leave your name and number and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Remember, there's no case too strange. BEEP! _"Uh-Hey!" That beep forced Cordy back into the here and now, "Where the hell are you guys? I get kidnapped and when I finally get to a phone, I can't get a hold of you?! You better not have given up, it's only been like three weeks!" Cordelia rolled her eyes to the ceiling, "Would somebody pick up, please?! Hello?!"

"_Cordy!"_

Immense relief washed over Cordelia and she smiled brightly, ignoring the curious looks from the other two men in the room, "Fred! Oh, thank God!"

"_Where are ya? Ya'lright?!"_

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied coolly, ignoring the amused glance between the strange man and the bald one, "I can tell you were worried about me, what with you being at the office instead of being out _looking for me!_"

"_Oh! It's been three weeks. I've been at the office doin' non-stop research on where in New York you mighta been taken. I hadn't found any trace at all, but now that ya called I don't gotta look anymore! Angel and Wesley are actually in New York right now." _The Texan accent slowly dissipated as the young woman's nerves eased.

"They are?" Cordelia sat up straighter and leaned forward, "Where?"

"_I'm not sure..."_ Cordelia could hear the sound of paper rustling in the background, _"Last time they checked in... they were staying at Harry's Motel in New York City. Where are you?"_

"Um..." Cordelia looked up at the Professor and frowned, "Hey, where am I exactly?"

Professor Xavier just politely smiled at her, "You're in Westchester, New York, Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters."

"Right," Cordelia's attention went back to the phone call, "Westchester, New York, some Xavier's Institute thing."

"_Yer kidding!"_ Fred's voice was suddenly filled with such enthusiasm, Cordelia actually had to pull the phone away from her ear, _"I tried to get into that school when I was a Freshman. They have the best High School physics program in the country!" _

"Fred-"

"_Oh! Could you ask Professor Charles Xavier to take a look at my thesis? I would I love it if he could give me some criticism."_

"Fred-"

"_Oh! And-"_

"Winifred Burkle!" Cordelia shot Xavier a disbelieving look and shook her head in exasperation, "The only thing I'm going to do is get home and forget this whole thing ever happened alright?" There was a few moments pause where Cordelia listened to Fred's dejected reply before nodding in confirmation, "Yeah, I'm glad I'm fine too. I'll see you when I get back to LA. OK, Bye!" Cordelia quickly hung the phone up and shook her head, "I love the girl, but she's such a handful."

"I beg your pardon, Miss Chase," Cordelia looked back up to the Professor, "Did you say her name was Winifred Burkle?"

"Yeah..." She trailed off, eying the Professor wearily, "Why?"

"Oh, I've read her thesis," He smiled broadly, completely ignoring the exasperated look on Cordelia's face, "Quite a promising young mind. I don't believe I've ever hear-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cordelia waved her hand dismissively, "I know, she's smart. Way smarter than most people. Doesn't change the fact that she's a little crazy."

"No, I suppose not," Xavier leaned back, somewhat confused, "I had been following her work, up until she disappeared a little over five years ago. You wouldn't by chance know why she stopped her work, would you?"

Cordelia frowned and crossed her arms. If this guy thought he was going to pump her for information, he had another thing coming, "She was depressed."

"Depressed?"

"Depressed."

Xavier frowned at the sudden hostility emitting off the girl. He kept his gaze on the girl, but turned his thoughts to the other man in the room. _She's lying._

Remy frowned at the Professor, but didn't acknowledge the words, _You made her mad._

_I gathered that._ "Did you need to make another phone call? Have someone pick you up?" Xavier quickly changed the subject.

"Nope," Cordelia arched a perfect eyebrow, "Fred's calling them for me."

"I see."

"Yup."

Finally, the mysterious man next to Cordelia cleared his throat, "M' Remy, by the way," he flashed Cordelia with a brilliant smile. Then, much to his surprise she returned it. Exactly.

"Cordelia," she supplied, even though he had already picked up her name.

"Oh, yes," Xavier smiled, happy at the new relevant topic, "This is the young man whom you saved."

"Yeah, I know."

"_Que_?" Remy's head snapped to the Professor. No one had told him that. He turned his attention back to the young girl who was casually glancing around the room as if she was completely in her element, "How'd ya do that?"

Chocolate eyes turned to him with a shrug, "Your friends couldn't find you. I did."

Remy cleared his throat, "_Merci_, but how? I jus' figured de Kit-Kat found me with those computer skills o' hers."

"Kitty had quite a hard time finding you actually," Xavier supplied, glancing at Cordelia in amusement, "Ms. Chase here took one look at the map and seemed to know exactly where you were."

"Really?" Remy turned to Cordelia with wide eyes, which were luckily hidden behind his sunglasses.

"No, not really," Cordelia scoffed. What was with these people and assuming she could do a myriad of things? Cordelia turned her gaze to Remy and shot him a meaningful look, "I had a vision."

"A vision?" Xavier leaned forward, his elbows on his desk while his fingers steepled together, "Would that be what caused you to lose consciousness before you were brought here."

With a sigh, Cordelia nodded, "Yeah, something like that," honestly though, she didn't think it was the vision that had done that. She had had more painful ones and been wide awake after. She highly doubted a small one like that would have knocked her out.

"Dey always do that?"

Cordelia turned her attention back to Remy and started. The concern on his face was a little more than she expected. She had expected curiosity, like from the Professor, or intellectual interest like from Dr. McCoy. Most strangers don't seem to care that her visions were painful until they witnessed one for themselves.

"Sort of," at this moment, Cordelia decided being somewhat honest was the best course of action right now, "usually it's less black outs and more pain."

"I see," Xavier nodded, "Well, Ms. Chase, I want you to know how much we appreciate you finding Mr. Lebeau for us. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, just let us know if and when you need anything."

Cordelia nodded, knowing a dismissal when she heard one, "Yeah, no problem," she pushed herself out of her chair and wordlessly left the room.

"Interesting girl."

"Yeah..."

xXx

The second Cordelia exited the office, she was met by the cheerful face of Kitty Pryde. Inwardly, she groaned. She really didn't need cheerfulness right now.

"Hey!"

"Hey," Cordelia started down the hall, ignoring her sudden attachment. Her brown eyes scanned over the paintings and end tables decorating the hall. Very tasteful. She had to admit, whoever decorated this place sure as hell knew what they were doing. Cordelia headed down the stairs and headed out the two large front doors. The immediate sunlight was wonderful. How long had it been since Cordelia had taken the time to really enjoy the sun? Seriously. She was always running around doing errands or sleeping during the daytime now.

Stupid job, screwing up her schedule.

She took a few steps forward and lowered herself onto the steps. Bathing in the much needed sun, she paid no mind to the petite girl as she skipped past her and towards the courtyard. Cordelia watched as Kitty made her way to the middle of the courtyard where a group of students were playing soccer. She watched indifferently as the teenagers ran around and kicked the checkered ball at each other. Then one of them did something that made her sit up a little straighter; he power kicked the ball straight through the stone fence surrounding the property. She blinked in shock as all the other students just laughed and ran after it.

"Woah..." she whispered.

"Yeah, it' takes some gettin' used t'."

Cordelia swung her head around and stared at the woman behind her. It was the woman from her earlier vision. She was a little shorter than Cordelia, with long wild hair and two white streaks framing each side of her face. It wasn't the hair that had Cordelia's fashion disaster alarm ringing, it was her clothing. A warm summer day and this girl was wearing white elbow length gloves with a short sleeved burgundy shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

The fashion disaster smiled brightly at Cordelia before settling herself on the step next to her, "Ah'm Rogue."

"Your name is Rogue?" Cordelia's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. What kind of name was that? "What kind of name is that?"

The PTB link had to give the mutant some credit. For her part, Rogue just smiled and shrugged before waving an uncaring hand, "Everyone here's got at least two names. Their real name, then their 'code' name. Ah don't. M'just Rogue."

"Huh," Cordelia turned eyes back to the group of kids playing soccer, "I'm Cordelia," she offered, though she was getting slightly annoyed with how often she had been introducing herself, "So what's the deal here? The blue doctor downstairs said this place helped mutants, he made it sound like it was some kind of safe haven."

"It is," Rogue smiled sadly and rested her elbows on her knees, "A lot mutants out there are dangerous, not just to other people, but to themselves. Professor Xavier understands that most of 'em can't control it, so he built this place. A school to help mutants not only learn to control their new found gifts, but help them learn how to deal with issues out there," she nodded her head towards the gate, "in the real world."

Cordelia's eyes ticked to Rogues arm, "I take it you're one of the dangerous ones."

Nodding, Rogue picked at her glove, "That obvious, huh?" Cordelia shrugged, "Yeah, Ah-uh... Ah'm dangerous. When Ah touch people," Rogue purposely avoided Cordelia's gaze, the shame of her powers obvious, "skin to skin, Ah suck the life outta 'em," Cordelia's eyebrows shot up at the familiarity of the statement, "Ah take their memories, their abilities, Ah literally become them for a while. It all depends how long Ah keep contact. If Ah do it fer too long..." the woman trailed off and shook her head.

"You could kill someone..." Cordelia finished, a frown marring her features, "Wow, I never thought I'd prefer my visions over – not that there's anything wrong with..." Cordelia trailed off, her face held in a grimace, "I'm sorry. I'm not real good with the whole..." she motioned between them.

Rogue laughed and shook her head, though the response sounded forced, "Don't worry about it. Everyone has a hard time after Ah tell 'em," her forced smile suddenly looked more genuine to the younger girl, "Ya looked lonely over here. Thought Ah'd come by and introduce mahself."

"Thanks," Cordelia smiled, surprisingly grateful at the gesture, "That's sweet. My-uh... my friends should be here tonight to pick me up. They've been looking for me for about three weeks."

Rogue nodded, "Wow," Cordelia frowned at the suddenly strange look in the woman's eyes, "They must really care for you."

"Yeah," Cordelia gave her a wistful smile, "They do," she sighed and leaned back on her elbows, her eyes fixed on Rogue's expression, "Kinda like how much they care for you here."

Rogue chuckled and shook her head slightly, "They do care, but..." her voice trailed off and she shook her head again, "It's a long story. Let's just say, they'd do it for anyone, not just me."

Cordelia rose an eyebrow, "So would my friends," a moment of pride filled Cordelia at the thought, "That's kinda why they're my friends," Cordelia frowned as a realization hit her, "I don't think I could be friends with anyone who wasn't willing to do the right thing. Not anymore," It really was strange to think about, especially for Cordelia. Before, she would have been happy to just be friends with rich and beautiful people, now she had standards. Now she found herself caring about a person's personality and values. Sometimes she hated it, but there was no doubt about it; she was happier now than she had ever been. And she knew that was because of her friends. They were real friends, something she never really had before.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused the two girls to start out of their thoughts and snap their gazes behind them.

Standing there, his hands stuffed into his torn jeans, was Remy Lebeau. He flashed both of them a brilliant smile, "Hope I ain't interruptin' somethin'."

Just before Cordelia could tell him he was fine, Rogue snapped, "Yer always interruptin' somethin', Swamp Rat," Rogue leveled a steady glare on him, "Ya want somethin'?"

The grin on Remy's face went from brilliant to lecherous. Cordelia's gaze continued to jump back and forth between the two of them.

"Ya know me, _cherie_, all I ever wanted was your enchanting company."

Cordelia watched in surprised amusement as Rogue rolled her eyes and scooted over, silently inviting him to sit next to her. He practically threw himself onto the step, though somehow he managed to do it gracefully.

Remy nodded in acknowledgment to Cordelia. He had heard the end of their conversation, what Cordelia had said about her friendships, and it tore at him. How would she handle knowing what kind of a man her real father was if she couldn't even be friends with someone like him?

Heart pumping a million miles a minute, Remy's insides were tight. He couldn't remember the last time he was so nervous. No, nervous wasn't the right term for this. He had been nervous when Sinister had caught him three days ago during the rescue mission. No, he was terrified. In fact, it was a lot like the day he had first met the Lebeaus, before Tante Mattie had shown him just how hospitable they all were. So hospitable in fact, he knew they would have openly accepted Cordelia, not minding the situation with her father. Family was family to them.

Looking at his daughter, Remy could definitely see the physical differences of the girl sitting on the steps with him and the girl laying in the hospital bed about a year ago. It wasn't just the shorter hair either, there was something else. He just couldn't put his finger on it. She looked... worn almost.

His chest grew tighter.

What the hell happened to her? Had it been Sinister? Had he caused the difference? Or maybe it was her visions. She had admitted they were painful, hell he had seen just how painful they could be, though he hoped to God that one had been an exception. But what about the one that caused her to pass out?

Hank had already taken her blood and done a few MRI's. The doctor wanted to analyze them before he stated anything officially. He even wanted to speak to her a little after she woke up.

Her visions worried him more than he thought possible, but surprisingly that wasn't his biggest worry. Was their relationship, as non-existent as it was, putting her in danger?

"I wanna thank you again," Remy spoke, his eyes ever intense on the younger woman, "fer findin' me."

Rogue turned wide eyes to the girl, who just smiled politely, "Wait... you found him?" Rogue shifted her gaze back and forth between the two people, "Ah knew Kitty had trouble findin' him, but Ah didn't think you had anything to do with it," she turned a confused gaze to Remy, "Why didn't she say anything?"

Remy shrugged, his eyes landing on the girl in question playing soccer with her students. He smiled as she dribbled the ball towards the net, phasing herself – and the ball when she could – through her competition, "Maybe she's waitin' til Cykes wakes up. Dat way we can get all de info out in one big meetin'."

"Cykes?" Cordelia frowned as her thoughts went back to Mr. Yummy in the infirmary, "Is that the guy in the infirmary? With the bandages?"

Rogue smiled and nodded, "Yup, that's Scott. His 'code' name is Cyclops. He and Remy here," she motioned towards her interest, "have a kind of competition goin'."

"Competition?"

"See who's better," Remy smiled.

"Better at what?"

Remy chuckled and tried to lock eyes with Cordelia, a hard feat to do with sunglasses, "Everything."

"Oh, God," Cordelia rolled her eyes and pushed herself up to her feet, "Men," she murmured and started to walk away.

Remy blinked in surprise, not at all expecting that reaction. Rogue patted his knee, an amused smile on her lips, "Not yer smoothest, sugah," Rogue pushed herself to her feet as well and headed after Cordelia.

Remy watched the two women walk away, bewildered.

"Hey!"

Cordelia looked over her shoulder as Rogue jogged to catch up. The shorter girl gave Cordelia a concerned smile, "Y'alright?"

"Wonderful," Cordelia snapped, "I get kidnapped right out of my house, tortured for three weeks – most of which is a blur – and now I'm on the opposite side of the country with strange people, wearing the fashion disaster of all jogging suits, and hoping to the Powers that my friends had enough mind to take care of my place," Cordelia shot Rogue an annoyed look, "I'm freakin' wonderful."

Rogue stared down at her feet, watching the path they walked around the Institute grounds, "When mah powers first manifested, Ah had mah first kiss," Cordelia looked over at her in surprise, "Cody. Ah put 'im in a coma for a good three weeks," Rogue smiled sadly, "it was just a few seconds, but it was enough."

"I'm sorry," Cordelia stopped walking and turned confused, "but what does this have to do with _anything_?"

"Mah point is," Rogue sighed, "we all got stories like that. Most o' the students here," she nodded towards the group playing soccer, "have been disowned by their families, about half barely survived mobs," she took in a deep breath, "there've been several occasions where some of the students have been kidnapped from here and taken to have God knows what done to 'em.

"For the past year and a half, we've been dealin' with this man who calls himself Mr. Sinister," Cordelia rose an eyebrow at the name, "He's the one who ordered yer kidnap. For a while, one by one, our students 'n' teachers went missin'. Once we figured out who was behind it, Remy helped us find the labs. We're still missin' a lot of our students," Rogue paused, "They've been missin' for about four months."

"Oh, God," Cordelia whispered, thanking the PTB that they hadn't given her that vision, "that's horrible..." Rogue nodded in agreement. Cordelia frowned as the point Rogue had been trying to make hit her. Suddenly irritated, Cordelia placed her hands on her hips, "Alright, I get it. The three weeks of hell I just went through is nothing compared to what most of the students here have been through or the ones still missing are going through. That doesn't mean my life has been some leisurely stroll."

Rogue's eyes went wide, "Ah didn't mea-"

"I don't care what you meant," Cordelia snapped, "Don't presume that since I'm not-" Cordelia cut herself off. She had almost admitted that she wasn't a mutant, "That since I haven't been disowned, or chased by a mob, or accidentally hurt someone close to me, that I don't have my own scars. I have scars," Cordelia scoffed, "I have a ton of scars!"

"Ah wasn't-"

"I'm heading back inside," Cordelia started back the way she came. She went a few steps before turning around, walking backwards, "Don't follow me!" She spun back around and marched past the Cajun still sitting on the steps and into the Institute.

Rogue stepped up next to Remy, who was staring at the slammed door with raised eyebrows, "What de hell happened?"

"Ah ain't sure," Rogue murmured, "We were jus' talkin' and Ah told 'er about the students past experience and the current situation with Sinister..." Rogue trailed off and shrugged, her eyes still glued on the door, "The next thing Ah know, she's snappin' at me, actin' like Ah insulted her by insinuating that she had an easier life."

"Huh," Remy frowned as he stared at the door, his mind comparing the girl now to the first time he had seen her and everything she had said that day.

Cordelia Chase was definitely not what he expected.


	6. Heartbreaks, Stories, and Floods! OH MY!

Chapter's a little short, but I think it's a good start. The actual active plot of this story won't start for another three chapters or so.

So, I had to mess around with the X-Men movie time line a little bit... or a lotta bit...

So...

**Important Note:**

X-Men 1: Rogue was 18, Scott was 21, Jean & Remy were 23

X-Men 2: Rogue was 19, Scott was 22, Jean & Remy were 24

X-Men 3: **8 years later**. Rogue was 27, Scott was 30 , Jean & Remy were 32 – Xavier and Scott were not killed. Scott will be explained – Xavier was only put in a coma for a few months and taken care of by Moira.

Now: 3 years later. Rogue is 30, Scott is 33, and Remy is 35

**Also **Jean is not essential to my story (at least I don't think, things change). I just wanted to clarify her age before I get any questions.

*~*~*~*

Cordelia Chase.

When one thought of that name, they thought of popularity, glamor, money, beauty – the works.

Or at least they did in High School.

Now...

Now Cordelia Chase was just barely paying bills. She was tired all the time – and sweaty – and now had this constant drained look. Her friends from High School never spoke to her anymore; they cut her out. One too many times of showing up smelling like demon guts would do that amongst this group of friends. She couldn't afford the glamorous products she once could and found herself shopping at thrift stores – something that wold have never occurred to the Queen C.

To say Cordelia Chase had changed in the past three years was an understatement.

This whole captive experiment deal-y was just a little too much for her right now. She still had a left over bruise from Angel's betrayal. Even if she had forgiven him, it didn't mean she was still fully over it. And as much as she loved Wesley – in that platonic sense – and understood his whole obsession with Fred, it still left her sorely missing the days when they were all just her boys.

Plus, the visions never helped.

Damn, Doyle.

Since the moment Cordelia had woken up in New York, she had yet to be alone. Even now, she was talking to a thin blue man with deep amber eyes.

And no, she didn't scream when she first saw him, though it did take her a second to realize that he had been one of the people in her vision. He was watching TV. Seriously, who would scream and run if a demon was just sitting there watching TV and snacking on a bag of Funions?

When he saw her though, and oh god, the man disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared right in front of her, eager to introduce himself.

The next thing Cordelia knew, she was getting his life story about the circus, Stryker, how the X-Men saved his life, and how he came to find God...

Yeah... she totally tuned most of that out.

She was just trying to think up an excuse to leave when a familiar voice interrupted the one-sided conversation.

"Hey! _Mon ami_!" Remy slapped Kurt on the shoulder and grinned broadly at the two. Rogue stood behind Remy, her head pointed down at the floor, refusing to look at Cordelia, "Wonderin' if you wouldn't mind helpin' a poor _homme_ out. Needin' some time away from da kiddies, ya know?"

"Oh? Vich one?" Kurt asked, eyes lit up with extreme interest.

"De PE class. Normally, I'd kill t'keep dat one, but I t'ink Hank wants me to lay off on de physical training fer awhile," he shrugged one shoulder and made a show of wincing in pain, "gotta let m' shoulder rest, ya know."

"Oh, no problem! I'd love to teach dem!"

And in a cloud of smoke, Kurt disappeared.

Remy turned to Cordelia with an uncharacteristic nervous smile, "Figured you could use a hand..." and much to his own personal embarrassment, he ended in an awkward shrug.

"Oh, yeah..." Cordelia gave him a polite smile, "Thanks."

"If yer lookin' fer, uh, somewhere quiet," Remy motioned down the hall, "dere's a stairway access to da roof. Um... Usually just me n' Rogue go up dere..."

Cordelia looked down the hall and turned to him with an honestly grateful smile, "Oh, um... Thank you," she gave him an equally awkward shrug before turning around and heading in that direction.

"What was that?" Rogue walked up next to Remy and gave the usually slick man a shocked look. An amused, yet forlorn smile cracked Rogue's lips, "The slick ladies' man Lebeau just got tongue twisted."

Remy didn't even glance at Rogue as he made his way to the kitchen. Rogue crossed her arms in a tight hug as she stared after him. A frown turned down her face and her eyes began to sting. Rogue quickly turned around and rushed to her room.

*~*~*~*

Cordelia walked out on the roof. She glanced around. The sun was bright. Not as bright as it is in LA, but brighter than she liked.

Oh, God. When did she become that person? The type of girl who looked forward to working all hours of the night? When did she start to prefer the moon over the sun?

That's when her eyes started to sting. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why she started to cry. At first it was just a few tears leaking out of the corners, then the next thing she knew she couldn't breathe. The sobs began to hurt her chest. Her knees gave out and she collapsed to the floor, her knees scraping against the hard cement. She stayed like that for a few moments, letting it work through her system.

By the time the sobbiness had subsided, it was well into the afternoon. Cordelia took in a deep, shaky breath and pushed herself onto her feet. She wiped away the last few tears and prayed to the PTB that she'd be able to find a bathroom before she ran into anybody else today.

With the way her luck had been going lately, she really shouldn't have been as surprised as she was when she turned around and saw someone standing a few feet behind her.

Cordelia was torn between rolling her eyes in annoyance, shouting in anger, or stating her concern. After all, hadn't he just been unconscious in the hospital room?

"How long have you been there?" she asked instead, wiping her cheeks once more to make sure they were dry.

"Not that long," his voice was strained and tired. Cordelia had heard that enough in Wesley and Gunn to know what kind of pain he was in. Hell, she heard it enough in her own voice on more than one occasion, "Honest," he added.

As if their little exchanged never happened, Cordelia rose an eyebrow, "So... hiding out?"

"Couldn't stay in that room anymore," he gave her a wry smile and limped a few steps past her, "I figured the only people I'd run into up here would be Rogue or Remy. And neither of them would throw a fit about breaking Hank's orders," he winced as he slowly lowered himself onto the floor, "So, if you don't mind me asking," he let out a breath as he finally relaxed on the roof. He looked up at her, "Who are you?"

Cordelia smiled, and without thinking, sat down next to him, "Cordelia."

"How long were you there?"

The question caught her off guard. The only other person who had inquired about the incident was Dr. McCoy, and even then it was just about the collar,, "Three weeks," she kept her vision trained on the horizon and pulled her knees tightly to her chest, "You?"

"Three years, apparently."

Cordelia's eyebrows shot up. Her three weeks had felt like forever, she couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for him. Once again, Cordelia felt out of place. She didn't like the feeling. The last few years of her life, she only ever felt belonging with the AI gang. Even with the Scoobies (especially while she was dating Xander) she always felt out of place. Her heart yearned and begged for Angel to hurry up and come get her.

It was still a few hours till dark.

"Doesn't feel that long, you know?"

His voice interrupted her thoughts. Cordelia gave him a tight smile, but said nothing.

"Hey," he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Cordelia looked up at him, her attention completely caught. She stared at his sunglasses, noting in the back of her mind that something was off about them. Her eyes were open with sadness to anyone who dared look at them. His words ran hollow through her ears, "I've dealt with experimentation before. I've been trained to deal with it. It's a risk that comes with my job," his voice was soft and the only thing that made Cordelia listen to him. His face leaned in a little closer, wanting her to hear the words he said, "There's no shame in hurting, in being afraid of it."

"I'm not," the whisper cracked as it left her lips, "I'm not ashamed," she clarified and turned her face away to gaze at the horizon. A drained sigh escaped her and she crossed her arms over her knees, letting her chin rest against them, "I've been used before, I've dealt with it." the memory of her unnatural pregnancy, the trouble with her visions, and Billy flashed in her mind, "It's not what happened that's bothering me," Cordelia refused to look at the man as he stared at her silently, politely waiting for her to continue, "It's what didn't happen."

She left the statement hanging, thankful when he didn't ask her what she meant.

He already knew. She knew he did.

That was little comfort to her.

*~*~*~*~*

Cordelia left the infirmary. She had escorted Scott Summers back to the basement and to Dr. McCoy's care. She was suppose to stay in there, wait for the hairy man to grab her test results. Apparently he had done some X-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, and taken a blood sample while she was out. Cordelia already knew what he was going to find.

She already found it.

And she definitely didn't feel like hearing it again.

With another tired sigh, Cordelia made her way through the metallic and, dare she say, futuristic hall. Her intentions were to go back upstairs, find a kitchen, and eat something. Her stomach rumbled. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had a meal. A real meal too, not a frozen tv dinner or fast food uck meal. Actually, Angel probably made the last good thing she ate. At random times, he could be found cooking something in that kitchen she dubbed as the house of rats. Weird since he didn't eat actual food, but damned if he didn't make the best pancakes ever.

Stepping into the elevator, Cordelia frowned and pressed the up button. They couldn't have a clock in the hall or elevator? How was she suppose to know what time it was?

Just as the door began to close, a hand reached out and grabbed it. Cordelia watched as he pushed the door open with just a little more force than necessary. A very wet and clean Logan entered the small space. He stared at her a moment, sniffed the air, grimaced, and pushed the 'close door' button.

There was a small moment of awkward silence. Or at least for Logan it was awkward. Cordelia just leaned her head and shoulder against the wall and let out a drawn out, overly dramatic sigh. Logan just rolled his eyes up in annoyance and ignored her.

Or tried to.

He couldn't help but crack a smile as her stomach made an obvious rumble, "Hungry?"

"Ugh," she scoffed and shrugged when he looked over his shoulder, "I haven't eaten anything since I've been here."

Logan grunted and turned back around, "Lucky."

Cordelia smiled and made an amused sound, "Heh. Alright, wanna show me around the kitchen and make sure I don't get poisoned? Or at least show me where it is and let me get poisoned. Whatever," she shrugged.

Logan kept his smirk hidden and perked up when the elevator came to a stop and opened. He stepped to the side and jerked his head for Cordelia to go first. She smiled brightly and slid past him and out into the foyer, Logan followed after her.

"C'mon, kid," he led her towards their right, "maybe we'll find ya somethin' edible."

"Hey, as long as it's not five days past the expiration date, I'll be fine," she joked and grinned wider at his curious gaze, "Had a bad income stint a few years back. Let's just say I found out that even ketchup packets have an expiration date."

A deep chuckle rumbled from Logan's chest as he shook his head, "That's not so bad. You ain't hit rock bottom 'till you wake up and find that even yer non-perishables have perished."

"Ouch," Cordy laughed and crossed her arms over her chest, "OK, you win. Oh, hey, um..." Cordelia stopped in front of the open kitchen door, "Thanks for earlier..." at Logan's raised eyebrow, Cordelia felt the awkward need to clarify, "The big cat – in that lab place – hey! I'm not gonna get like rabies or anything am I?"

Logan just laughed and walked into the kitchen. He ignored the other occupant and opened the fridge, "What's yer pleasure, darlin'?"

"Oh!" Cordelia grinned and swung herself into the room, not noticing the other occupant stiffen, "The Caribbean, Johnny Depp, and expensive drinks that I don't have to pay for combination. But for now I'll settle with a sandwich and some water."

"That I can do," Logan stuck his head in the fridge and muttered to himself, "Alright ham, where are ya? I can smell ya..."

With a swing of her arms, Cordelia practically pranced over to the island counter top and hopped up onto the stool.

She started when the other occupant announced his presence, "So you seem t' be in a better mood dan earlier."

"Oh, uh..." Cordelia's smile disappeared and she stared at Remy awkwardly, "Yeah, I just uh... needed to think," her eyes lit up when she noticed something behind Remy on the stove, "Hey, what's that?"

"Hmmm?" Remy looked back over to what he was doing, as if noticing for the first time that he was standing in front of a stove, "Oh, jus' got hungry, t'ought I'd make some gumbo. Ya want some?" he offered, his heart literally pounding in his chest. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so nervous.

Cordelia's eyebrows shot up. The question she asked left Remy to seriously reconsider whether or not they were actually related, "Gumbo? There's actually food out there called _gumbo_?"

Logan burst out laughing.

*~*~*~*~* Originally I was going to end it here, but felt that was too soon/short...

At first, the meal was nice. It was just Logan, Remy, and his daughter sitting around the island, trading stories. Like, what was the worst meal you ever had? Logan won with his raw rabbit story, Remy came in second with his cousin's attempt to make crocodile soup, and Cordelia lost with her cup of ketchup (in actuality it was blood, but she managed to correct herself just in time. She really didn't feel like going into the whole demon pregnancy thing. Might cause a few questions).

Another story they shared was the worst date. Cordelia won that one. The rich and handsome Preston Angerston had taken her to dinner where he proceeded to spill half his meal on her and the other half on himself, followed by a show where he then threw up in the balcony. Feeling bad for the guy, she called him a cab, only to have him go psycho on her and try to kill her (turns out he had been fighting a possession all night). Remy came in second place, giving only minor details on his ex-girlfriend Bella, while Logan lost with his one nightstand's husband breaking into his hotel room.

It was around the third set of stories, worst jobs, that it started to go downhill for Remy. It wasn't anyone's fault really. He had already told his story of being hired to steal a pair of toenail clippers (which turned out to be made of platinum, but he didn't know that at the time), and Logan had just finished what could only be described as a bounty hunter tale, when it happened.

The kitchen flooded.

Oh, not with water.

With men.

Cordelia sat at the island, the complete center of every man's attention, telling her story.

"So there I was, like, lost in the middle of this nowhere building, and this man comes up to me," she cleared her throat and spoke in a deep voice, "'You here for the audition?'" Cordelia rolled her eyes, "And I'm like, yeah! So he takes me to this back room. And it all seems very professional, ya know. Then I walk by a set and hear this guy giving his lines, and he's terrible! So, I know I'm totally gonna make this program. Then we get to the next set and I start hearing all these strange sounds," Cordelia's lips pursed together angrily and she leaned back, giving the entire room a disbelieving look, "Turns out the guy actually thought I was auditioning to be in porn! Can you believe it? I told the guy to go to hell and got practically ran out of there. I mean do I look like a porn star to you?"

Remy could practically hear his own head explode. Especially when the group of men made disbelieving and disapproving sounds, though they obviously thought different. Oh, boy... You know, ever since the first time he heard about her, he wondered whether or not they would have anything in common, and if they did, what it would be.

He knew she was a heart breaker when he saw her.

He just hadn't expected this.

Cordelia Chase was too much like Remy Lebeau on the attraction front. The opposite gender migrated to her like they flocked to him. And just like him, she basked in their attention.

It was all just too much.

Way, way too much...

How was he going to survive this?

"Miss Chase?"

The entire kitchen went quiet as Hank McCoy and Professor Xavier strolled into the room.

"Yeah?" her eyebrows raised curiously.

"I was hoping to discuss certain matters with you," Hank waved a file in the air, "I believe it's something you need to know."

Remy's gut twisted.

Hank knew.

Cordelia grimaced and glanced around the room. A ton of worried and forlorn faces stared back at her. Suddenly, Cordelia felt too crowded. She slid off of the stool and gave the men an apologetic smile, "Sorry, boys, duty calls."

A groan filled the room and Cordelia couldn't help that little smile that slid on her face as she slipped out of the kitchen. She left behind a group of enamored men and one very confused Cajun.

"Y'alright, Gumbo?"

The question caught Remy off guard and he practically jumped as he spun around, "Uh... yeah... jus' fine, _mon ami_."

Logan raised an eyebrow and just stared at him. Remy returned the stare. Logan, ever the patient person, decided to hurry up to his point, "Normally, a situation like that," he motioned to the group of men behind them who were quickly dispersing, "yer the one at the front, makin' yer presence known. This time ya jus' kinda eased into the back. Not yer usual style, Lebeau."

"Yeah..." Remy murmured and looked at the kitchen door Cordelia had just slipped through. With a frown, Remy glanced around the now empty kitchen. Without even thinking, Remy asked a loaded question, "Can you keep a secret, _mon ami_?"

*~*~*~*~*

Next Chapter:

Angel and Wesley arrive!


End file.
